 |
Upcoming season or competition: 2018 EAFL season | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Inaugural season | 2005 |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country | USA |
| Most recent champion(s) | New York Magpies (2012) |
| Most titles | New York (6 premierships) |
| Related competitions | USAFL |
The Eastern Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Eastern United States of America and a division of the United States Australian Football League.
In the early months of 2005, member clubs of the South Eastern Australian Football League and North Eastern Australian Football League on the eastern seaboard formed a new league, the Eastern AFL.
The league at the start of the 2005 season comprised the Florida Redbacks, the North Carolina Tigers, the Baltimore Washington Eagles, the Pittsburgh Wallabies, the Philadelphia Hawks, the New York Magpies and the Boston Demons. At the end of the season, Pittsburgh disbanded, and the Redbacks pulled out of the league due to high travel costs of playing the Northern teams. The league continued as a five-team division from 2006 until 2010.
From 2006, the USAFL's two Florida-based clubs, the Tampa area based Redbacks and Fort Lauderdale Fighting Squids, played together as the Florida United Saints, playing an independent schedule against teams in the Southeast. In 2010, the Saints played four of the five EAFL clubs (all except Boston). Prior to the 2011 season, the Redbacks and Squids ended their merger played as two separate clubs, with the Squids playing independently still and the Redbacks returning to play a full EAFL schedule. They returned to a regional schedule in 2012 before folding the following season.
Boston won the inaugural EAFL championship title over New York. The Magpies struck back in 2006 before the Eagles took out the flag in 2007 and 2008. The ensuing years saw Magpie domination as they finished top of the table in each of the years from 2009 through 2013 before the competition went on hiatus in 2013.
From 2005 through 2011, each team played the other once, the team with the best record being awarded the title. Home and away fixtures were reversed every year to ensure that each team played the others once and home and once away every two years. Scheduling conflicts and other logistical challenges prevented a full fixture from being played in 2012 and 2013, but the Magpies were crowned champions based on having the best record in full matches against the remaining EAFL sides. From 2014, each club scheduled irregular matches with the others, and league rankings were not kept, and the competition effectively went on hiatus.
In 2017, Baltimore-Washington president Antoun Issa expressed the desire for the legacy EAFL clubs to reform the competition for 2018 in the hope of restoring structure to the USAFL season for the involved clubs, and for the results to have consequences on seeding and placement at the USAFL National Championships at the end of each season. The goal was to have a full round-robin fixture similar to 2005–2011. With Baltimore-Washington expanding into two new clubs, the Baltimore Dockers and D.C. Eagles, and the Columbus Jackaroos joining the remaining four clubs—Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and North Carolina—that would mean a six-game schedule. But due to the varying resources, non-regional ambitions, and travel capabilities from the different clubs involved, not all clubs would be able to commit to such a full schedule. Thus, a pod-based, round robin schedule featuring 2x20 "lightning" matches was proposed which would still produce a full schedule, while at the same time reducing the commitment level of the clubs to three dates.
Each round will see one team will host two other teams in a three-way "pod," where each team plays the other two in 2x20 minute matches. The season is played over seven rounds, which each team getting the opportunity to host one round and travelling for the remaining two. That means that each side will play two home games, two "away" games against the club hosting the pod, and two "neutral" games against the other traveling club within the pod. The ladder follows the same format as the Australian Football League: four points for a win, two points for a draw, and none for a loss. Any ties for position are broken by points percentage: (PF / PA) * 100.
| Club | Founded | Years in competition | League Premierships | Regionals Premierships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Dockers | 2017 | 2018- | ||
| Boston Demons | 1997 | 2005- | 2005 | |
| Columbus Cats | 2008 | 2018- | ||
| D.C. Eagles | 2017 | 2018- | ||
| New York Magpies | 1998 | 2005- | 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 | 2016 |
| North Carolina Tigers | 1997 | 2005- | ||
| Philadelphia Hawks | 1998 | 2005- | 2018 |
| Club | Founded | Folded | Years in competition | League Premierships | Regional Premierships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Washington Eagles | 1998 | 2017 | 2005- | 2007, 2008 | 2017 |
| Pittsburgh Wallabies | 2004 | 2006 | 2005 | ||
| Fort Lauderdale Fighting Squids | 2005 | active | 2015 | 2015 | |
| Florida Redbacks | 1999 | 2013 | 2005, 2011 |
The Australian Rules Football League of Ireland (ARFLI) is an Australian rules football competition and is the governing body of Australian Football in Ireland. Ireland is ranked the number three country in Australian football outside of Australia despite having a smaller league than some of its lower-ranked competitors. Ireland has been a competitor and finalist in all AFL International Cups and a winner twice. The success of the Irish team has commonly been attributed to the ease at which Gaelic footballers adapt to the Australian football because of certain similarities between the two codes.
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
Australian rules football in Germany is currently played by six clubs within the Australian Football League of Germany (AFLG) the governing body. Three clubs run metro leagues. The Dresden Wolves compete in the CAAFL of the Czech Republic and some other formative clubs play on an ad hoc basis within Germany.
AFL Sydney is an Australian rules football League, based in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. The AFL Sydney competition comprises 126 teams from 22 clubs which play across seven senior men's divisions, five women's divisions, a Master's Division and two under 19 competitions in season 2022.
The Bristol Dockers are an Australian rules football club based in Bristol, England. The club has both men's and ladies teams competing in the 9 aside format.
The USAFL National Championships is a tournament for Australian rules football in the United States.
Australian rules football has been played on an organised basis in Wales since 2007, Mae pêl-droed Rheolau Awstralaidd yn cael ei chwarae ar faes hirgrwn. Mae deunaw ddewisol bob ochr. with the league and representative teams run and managed by the Welsh Australian Rules Football League who is the controlling body of the sport in the country. All six senior teams in the WARFL are named after clubs in the South Australian National Football League. Prior to 2007 some clubs played in the BARFL but the rising popularity of Australian Football demanded the creation of a Welsh league.
The Australian Football League stages the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in the country.
The New York Magpies is a United States Australian Football League team, based in New York City, United States. It was founded in 1998 by an American, Erik Kallhovd. They play in the Eastern Australian Football League. The New York Magpies play their home games at Tibbetts Brook Park.
The Baltimore Washington Eagles was a United States Australian Football League (USAFL) team, based in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. It was founded in 1998, and includes men's and women's teams that compete at a national level. Several of its players have participated in the USA national team in numerous AFL International Cups, which are held every three years in Melbourne, Australia. The club has won two Division II Championships, were runners-up in the Division I Championship in 2008, and won the 2017 Arctic Cup in Iceland. The Baltimore Washington Eagles also are affiliated with a kids footy program in the D.C. and Baltimore areas, as well as the AFL-light, tackle-free variation of the sport known as Ausball. The Eagles are affiliated with the West Coast Eagles, being one of only two USAFL teams to share the AFL club's name and wear its colors. At the end of the 2017 season, the Baltimore Washington Eagles voted to expand into two clubs, the DC Eagles and the Baltimore Dockers.
The Dallas Dingoes are an Australian Rules Football team based in Dallas, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997 as the Dallas Outlaws, the team would play under that moniker until 2000. In that year the team changed its name to the Dallas Magpies after forming an alliance with the Collingwood Magpies of the Australian Football League (AFL). In 2018, a few years after the end of the partnership with the Collingwood Magpies, the club re-branded as the Dallas Dingoes.
The Denver Bulldogs are a United States Australian Football League (USAFL) club, based in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1997, the club is currently composed of a Division 1 men's team, a Division 1 women's team, and a Reserves men's team. The Denver Bulldogs are the most successful club in the 22-year history of the USAFL, having won eight men's national championships and six consecutive women's national championships. The Denver Bulldogs are devoted to promoting the international sport of Australian Rules Football in Colorado, the United States, and abroad at all levels of competition.
The Philadelphia Hawks are an Australian rules football club representing the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States Australian Football League.
The Columbus Jackaroos are an Australian Rules football team based in the city of Columbus, Ohio. The team is a part of the wider Columbus ARFC Inc. organization which is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization. The Jackaroos compete in the United States Australian Football League and were Division Two national champions in 2013 and Division Three runner-up in 2012.
The Fremantle Football Club's 2015 season is their 21st season in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club set a number of records during the year including winning their first McClelland Trophy for finishing first on the ladder after the completion of the home-and-away season and a club record of 17 wins during the home–and–away season.
The 2017 AFL Women's season was the inaugural season of the AFL Women's competition, the new highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 3 February until 25 March, and comprised a 7-game home-and-away season followed by a grand final featuring the top two clubs.
VFL Women's (VFLW) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria. The league initially comprised the six premier division clubs and the top four division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL), and has since evolved into what is also the second primary competition for AFL Women's (AFLW) clubs in Victoria. The competition has been held concurrently with the AFLW since 2021.
The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eighteen clubs.
The 2021 AFL Women's season was the fifth season of the AFL Women's competition, the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured fourteen clubs, ran from 28 January until 17 April, and comprised a 9-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top six clubs.
The 2022 AFL Women's season was the sixth season of the AFL Women's competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season was the last to feature 14 clubs, ran from 7 January until 9 April 2022, and comprised a ten-game home-and-away season, followed by a finals series featuring the top six clubs. It was the first of two seasons to take place in the 2022 calendar year, with the competition's seventh season held from August to November.
